Tar Sands Action in front of the White House/Josh Lopez
A new report from Oil Change International suggests that TransCanada’s Keystone XL pipeline would be of little economic benefit to the U.S., and wouldn't
enhance our energy security.
The project has been presented by oil industry and government sources as a way to improve American energy security through increased trade with Canada, a county seen as more stable and U.S.-friendly than other oil-producing nations.
But in a new report that looks at data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration, corporate disclosures to investors and oil market analyst reports, the non-profit advocacy group Oil Change International argues that the pipeline would not enhance U.S. energy security.[...]
"The construction of the Keystone XL will not lessen dependence on foreign oil—rather, it will feed the growing trend of exporting refined products out of the United States, thereby doing nothing to stabilize oil prices or gasoline prices at the pump."
It’s clear that Keystone XL is an export pipeline, the report says, because TransCanada already has contracts with companies that are openly planning to export oil.[...]
"...[T]he Motiva, Total and Valero refineries in Port Arthur are within a Foreign Trade Zone, meaning they are exempt from customs duties on imports and exports as well as various state and local taxes," the report says. "This amounts to a sizable subsidy to the oil industry to export refined oil products. [...] An honest assessment of the Keystone XL project will show that the oil will be exported and will not benefit U.S. consumers or any reasonable definition of the nation’s interest."
Long term, if it doesn't increase energy security for the U.S., what's it worth? It's getting harder and harder to find any upside for the nation in this venture. Any benefit from exploiting this non-renewable resource would be by definition short-term. The known environmental costs, coupled with the potential damage, are very permanent.
The Obama administration is publicly leaning toward approval. Maybe the slim likelihood of any benefit, along with growing bipartisan opposition, will change their minds.